Raised Panels

As long as your fence is secure, use whatever method you like. Depends on the results you are looking for.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

same as Gary, it depends on what you like. for curves use a sacrificial freestanding fence and have the fence clamped to you table at an angle to the blade and its good to have another fence on the other side of the workpiece to sort of keep it in position. if you are doing it against the taller fence it is good to make it as a jig that slides over the fence so you can clamp the piece to the fence and run it through that way. and don’t use panel raising bits in a 1/4” shank router not a good idea. thats why they only sell them in 1/2” if you have any questions about what i said because i don’t word things very well then just send me a message!

I’d leave the fence at 90 degrees and adjust your saw blade rather than trying to make a adjustable fence. I have done raised panel with a 1/4 collet router. What I did was use a couple of different bits with multiple cuts and depths varying the distance of the fence from the bit. It’s a tedious process, but with some experimentation, you can get some interesting profiles beyond the chamfer you’ll get on the table saw.

-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.

Bill, I like making raised panels on the table saw. I find it’s easier to make a jig that slides along the saw fence, with the panel clamped to it at the angle you want(usually about 15 degrees. Saw the end grain first then the long grain. Makes nice panels.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Bill – check out this video, might give you some ideas.

http://www.woodworkingonline.com/2007/05/14/podcast-21-5-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-your-table-saw/

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

Thanks for the info guys, I know where to get the best advice. I made my panels yesterday. I clamped a 2×4 90 degrees across the top of the blade and made coved raised panels. It felt strange pushing the wood across the blade in the wrong direction. The panels turned out beautiful. And yes, only raise your blade up 1/16 per pass. Now on to sanding.

-- Bill from Lithia Springs, GA I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.

I posted a project just like what you are attempting. Check it out under my projects for some inspiration. However I do have 2 separate routers set up for stiles and rails, and a grizzly shaper set up for the raised panels. I am a shop teacher and I do not teach running things vertical unless absolutely necessary. Less stable. So the idea of building a sliding fence that you secure the panel to is best. May take a few minutes longer to make since you have to clamp and unclamp each time, but safety is worth all the time in the world. Good luck. Tooldad